Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, at podium, takes questions from the media at a news conference regarding the couple accused of starving and torturing their 13 children in Riverside, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. Authorities say David and Louise Turpin could face charges including torture and child endangerment. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

David Allen Turpin and his wife, Louise Ann Turpin, sat in dark suits in a Riverside County courtroom Thursday, their movements limited by shackles on their wrists and waists — similar to how the county’s top prosecutor said their 13 children were sometimes chained to their beds as punishment for weeks or months at a time in their Perris home.

On a day when the Turpins pleaded not guilty in Superior Court to a total of 75 felony charges between them including torture, child abuse and false imprisonment, District Attorney Mike Hestrin described a life for the children ages 2 to 29 in which they were strangled and frequently beaten, so deprived of food that it stunted their growth, were allowed to shower only once per year and led a nocturnal existence that seemed designed to keep the family’s dark secrets safe.

There were plenty of toys in the house — but they were still in their packaging, unplayed-with. Even more cruelly, Hestrin said, the parents would tantalize their starving children by placing pumpkin and apple pies on a counter but forbidding them to eat the treats.

“This is severe emotional, physical abuse. There’s no way around that. This is depraved conduct,” Hestrin said at a news conference to announce the charges before their court appearance.

The stranglehold on the children was broken only when a 17-year-old daughter, who had spent the past two years planning, snuck out through a window Sunday with a cellphone and called 911. Hestrin said a younger sibling left with the teen too, but was frightened and turned back.

David Turpin, 56, and Louise, 49, whose bail was increased to $12 million each, could face 94 years to life in prison if convicted on all counts. Hestrin and the defense attorneys who are separately representing the husband and wife reminded the public that the Turpins are innocent until proven guilty.

The case has drawn attention from around the globe. So many journalists packed the district attorney’s conference room that some sat on the stage, mere feet from Hestrin. As he listed the examples of alleged abuse, each seemingly more shocking than the last, some reporters — typically a hardened lot — gasped.

Motive remains unclear

The big answer to the big question – why – remained elusive Thursday.

“I don’t know that I can answer that completely, but I will tell you as a prosecutor there are cases that stick with you that haunt you,” said Hestrin, who added that the investigation is ongoing and more charges could be filed. “We are at the beginning, not the end. There’s much we still don’t know.”

The mistreatment is believed to have begun when the Turpins lived in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, Hestrin said. It’s believed that in Texas, the parents lived separately from some of the children for some time, but would come by occasionally to drop off food.

After the family moved to Murrieta in 2010, then to Perris in 2014, the severity of the abuse intensified, he said. The charges filed in Riverside County are related only to the Turpins’ time in that jurisdiction.

As examples of how malnourished the children are, Hestrin said one who is 12 weighs what an average 7-year-old would weigh; the oldest sibling, a 29-year-old woman, is only 82 pounds. At least some of the children have suffered nerve and cognitive damage because of the prolonged and severe malnutrition, he said.

Living in chains, in secret

Hestrin said when deputies knocked on the door, the parents unchained children ages 11 and 14 before the officers entered, but a 22-year-old was still shackled.

The children told investigators that “many years ago” their parents started tying them up as punishment, first with rope. One child was hogtied, but when he escaped, that prompted the parents to start using chains and locks. They would shackle the children to their beds in separate rooms for weeks or months at a time, Hestrin said.

“Circumstantial evidence in the house suggests that the victims were often not released from their chains to go to their bathroom,” Hestrin said.

However, there doesn’t seem to have been much learning going on: “The students lack basic knowledge, even what a police officer was,” Hestrin said.

The girl who escaped said she didn’t know what medication or pills are, Hestrin said.

And although at least one Turpin child was allowed to attend Mt. San Jacinto College, any freedom the student might have imagined was an illusion: Louise Turpin would wait outside the classroom for her son to emerge and drive him home, Hestrin said.

Not-guilty pleas

David and Louise Turpin each have been charged with 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse and 12 counts of false imprisonment. The 2-year-old, Hestrin said, was not tortured.

David Turpin has additionally been charged with one count of committing a lewd act by force or fear on a child under 14. Hestrin said he inappropriately touched a female minor.

James Turpin, 84, David’s father, said he didn’t believe the allegations — particularly the one about the siblings not being allowed to shower. He and his wife visited their grandkids about six years ago when they lived in Murrieta and remembered them as “the sweetest family,” grandmother Betty said Wednesday.

“That’s ridiculous to me. I don’t know what’s going on over there,” James said Thursday. “They were clean and everything. There was no suspicion of anything wrong.”

David and Louise Turpin said little in court Thursday, other than to softly say “Yes” while nodding to whether they agreed to extend the time before a preliminary hearing could be held.

David Turpin and Louise Turpin of Perris, parents of the 13 children who authorities say suffered from such severe malnutrition that their growth was stunted, have been charged with torture, abuse of a dependent adult, neglect, false imprisonment for crimes committed 2010-present pic.twitter.com/tqw23OmSpE

The defense attorneys had little to say about their new clients Thursday, declining to comment on the charges, bail, strategy, possibly seeking mental evaluations or asking to move the case out of Riverside County.

“Every case is a big case to the defendant,” said Deputy Public Defender David J. Macher, who is representing David Turpin.

Jeff Moore, of the Blumenthal Law Offices, was appointed by Judge Michael B. Donner to represent Louise Turpin so the Public Defender’s Office would not have a conflict of interest.

The District Attorney’s Office is asking that anyone — in Riverside County, Texas or elsewhere — with information about the case contact Senior Investigator Wade Walsvick at 888-934-KIDS (5437), 951-955-4KID (4543) or wadewalsvick@rivcoda.org.

Support for the 13

On Thursday, people left balloons and teddy bears at the Turpins’ home. “For me, it’s to show a little light in a dark tunnel,” neighbor Wendy Martinez said.

Local charities have been inundated by donations to help the children, who are being treated at two local hospitals — the minors at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley and the adults at Corona Regional Medical Center.

Brian Rokos writes about public safety issues such as policing, criminal justice, scams, how law affects public safety, firefighting tactics and wildland fire danger. He has also covered the cities of San Bernardino, Corona, Norco, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Canyon Lake and Hemet. Before that he supervised reporters and worked as a copy editor. For some reason, he enjoys movies where the Earth is threatened with extinction.

Beau Yarbrough wrote his first newspaper article taking on an authority figure (his middle school principal) when he was in 7th grade. He’s been a professional journalist since 1992, working in Virginia, Egypt and California. In that time, he’s covered community news, features, politics, local government, education, the comic book industry and more. He’s covered the war in Bosnia, interviewed presidential candidates, written theatrical reviews, attended a seance, ridden in a blimp and interviewed both Batman and Wonder Woman (Adam West and Lynda Carter). He also cooks a mean pot of chili.

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